City Council candidates share their goals for Fall River in forum

Sixteen candidates for the Fall River City Council shared their visions Monday night for the city’s economic development, public safety and education, among other important election-season issues. The Herald News sponsored the public forum, which was held at the Bristol Community College’s ...

Sixteen candidates for the Fall River City Council shared their visions Monday night for the city’s economic development, public safety and education, among other important election-season issues.

The Herald News sponsored the public forum, which was held at the Bristol Community College’s Commonwealth College Center. The forum provided the candidates another opportunity before the Nov. 5 election to present themselves with brief opening statements before answering questions in small groups about their stances on the issues.

“It’s choking our families, our school education system’s resources, and that’s the No. 1 issue,” Correia said. “We can combat that through educational programs, getting more police on the streets, supporting programs like the BOLD Coalition and giving young at-risk youth different alternatives to drug abuse.”

City Councilor Raymond Mitchell said education was also a top issue, adding that many young people often get involved in drugs and criminal activity because they do not have an education that enables them to find good employment. City Councilor Linda Pereira agreed.

“If the person is educated, that person is empowered,” Pereira said. “If you’re empowered, more doors open to you.”

Candidate Chris Donovan said the city has to engage at-risk youth to deter them from criminal activity. Candidate Stephen Long said increasing local youth and adult educational attainment is necessary to preparing Fall River residents for the jobs of tomorrow.

Candidates Paul DaSilva and Mario Duarte also mentioned jobs and the importance of bringing more high-paying employers to Fall River. Meanwhile, candidate Cathy Ann Viveiros said the city has to get its “fiscal house in order” and analyze every line item in the city’s budget.

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“The idea that we can spend and spend and spend, I do think the people of Fall River are at a point where we can’t do that,” Viveiros said.

Former City Councilor Leo Pelletier agreed that money is a pressing issue, and that the city is challenged to provide municipal services in a cost-effective manner that does not raise taxes.

On the question of whether the city is doing enough to combat crime, several candidates praised Fall River Police Chief Daniel Racine and the Fall River Police Department. Most of the candidates said they would support increasing the police department’s roster to 235 full-time officers, which several officials have said is what the department needs to move from reactive to proactive policing.

“It’s amazing what the chief has been able to do, given the staffing level he has,” Miozza said. “But technology alone won’t solve our problems. We need boots on the ground. We need to give the chief the weapons that he needs.”

“We definitely can do more, you can always do more,” candidate Daniel S. Botelho said, adding that the city has to find more reliable ways of funding its public safety operations than relying on grants.

On education, several candidates said they would like to see the City Council — which currently is limited to only approving the School Department’s budget — having a bigger role to play in the city’s public schools.

“We need to have a bigger involvement with the (schools) budget,” Miozza said.

Duarte said the council could watch out for “fluff” in the school department, which consistently accounts for the most spending in the city’s budget. Long called for open lines of communication between the School Department and the City Council to monitor the budget and make sure “things are going in the right direction.”

Viveiros said she favors the idea of the city partnering with the local business community to engage the middle school youth and identify their potential career interests. Casey said the city should make sure teachers have the tools they need to educate children while Meade said he favored requiring students to wear uniforms at BMC Durfee High School.